1968 GOLDEN FLEECE NIGHT PREMIERSHIP

*Hawthorn breaks their drought - at this point in their history Hawthorn had two things in common with Footscray and North Melbourne; they all transferred from the VFA to the VFL in 1925, and they all struggled for success in the big league. The Hawks only flag at senior level had been the 1961 VFL premiership. In 1968 they happily added a night premiership trophy to their threadbare trophy cabinet.

*McKenna equals a record... or does he? - The Age newspaper has Collingwood's Peter McKenna kicking 10 goals in the 1968 series-opener against Fitzroy, equalling Peter Schofield's record set in 1959 for most goals in a night series match.

However, the match report in the Football Record (10-9-1968) has him kicking 9 for the game. Throughout the period 1968 to 1971 the Record continues to report that McKenna fell one short of matching Peter Schofield's tally. It is not until the 1990s that McKenna's total starts appearing in Football Record pre-season editions and AFL Stats Guides as a 10-goal haul.

So did he equal the record? Research is continuing... stay tuned!

*Huddo cuts loose - Hawthorn's Peter Hudson kicked 7 goals against Collingwood in the semi-finals then topped that effort with 8 goals in the final - a record that still stands for most goals in a Night Series/Pre-Season Cup Grand Final. In total Hudson kicked 18 goals in the Hawks' three matches, equalling Fred Goldsmith's record set in the 1958 series.

*Extra-time for the First Time - the opening round Richmond-Footscray clash was decided by sudden-death extra time – the very first VFL-AFL match to go to extra time. Scores were level at the end of time-on so play was allowed to continue until the deadlock was broken. A mere 11 seconds into extra-time a set-shot by Royce Hart was rushed through for a behind and the siren was sounded. The Sun reports that neither team knew the first score would win.

1968 Night Series Grand Final programme (private collection)

ROUND 1

DATE

TEAMS

1/4

1/2

3/4

FINAL

MARGIN

VENUE

DAY/TIME

CROWD

Sep-05

Collingwood (7)

4.5 (29)

6.6 (42)

10.7 (67)

16.10 (106)

24

Lake Oval, South Melbourne

Thu (8:00pm)

14,285

Fitzroy (11)

3.2 (20)

6.12 (48)

6.16 (52)

10.22 (82)

Sep-10

Hawthorn (6)

3.3 (21)

6.7 (43)

8.10 (58)

11.14 (80)

5

Lake Oval, South Melbourne

Tue (8:00pm)

12,059

Melbourne (8)

3.2 (20)

7.4 (46)

9.8 (62)

11.9 (75)

Sep-12

North Melbourne (12)

5.4 (34)

9.9 (63)

15.16 (106)

18.19 (127)

12

Lake Oval, South Melbourne

Thu (8:00pm)

10,020

South Melbourne (9)

2.1 (13)

5.2 (32)

10.5 (65)

18.7 (115)

Sep-17

Richmond (5)

3.4 (22)

8.8 (56)

11.10 (76)

15.15 (105)

1 (E/T)

Lake Oval, South Melbourne

Tue (8:00pm)

15,037

Footscray (10)

6.1 (37)

8.3 (51)

13.5 (83)

16.8 (104)

SEMI FINALS

DATE

TEAMS

1/4

1/2

3/4

FINAL

MARGIN

VENUE

DAY/TIME

CROWD

Sep-19

Hawthorn (6)

3.3 (21)

6.6 (42)

14.10 (94)

19.14 (128)

34

Lake Oval, South Melbourne

Thu (8:00pm)

15,366

Collingwood (7)

2.5 (17)

8.6 (54)

12.8 (80)

14.10 (94)

Sep-24

North Melbourne (12)

4.4 (28)

7.6 (48)

12.9 (81)

18.11 (119)

30

Lake Oval, South Melbourne

Tue (8:00pm)

7,052

Richmond (5)

3.6 (24)

6.13 (49)

10.15 (75)

12.17 (89)

GRAND FINAL

DATE

TEAMS

1/4

1/2

3/4

FINAL

MARGIN

VENUE

DAY/TIME

CROWD

Sep-30

Hawthorn v North
Melbourne moved to Oct.2 due to extreme wind conditions

Oct-02

Hawthorn (6)

1.4 (10)

8.7 (55)

11.11 (77)

16.15 (111)

61

Lake Oval, South Melbourne

Wed (8:00pm)

15,650

North Melbourne (12)

2.4 (16)

2.6 (18)

3.7 (25)

6.14 (50)

MATCH REPORTS

Listed below are match reports for all 7 games played during the series. This is the first time these reports have been collated and published online or in print. Unless otherwise noted the information was sourced from The Football Record and The Age newspaper.